New Addition to Our Travel Family

After several months of searching I finally found and purchased a 2005 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon to tow behind the motorhome and explore western state trails. The 2005 and 2006 versions of this vehicle were recommended to us by seasoned off-roaders  for its wheel base length and engine and transmission combination. The Unlimited version has ten inches longer wheel base and a bit more leg room in the backseat. Unlike the 2007 and later versions, this Unlimited is a two door and has a straight six engine rather than the newer Jeeps V6. The Rubicon model signifies that it has upgraded off-road capabilities over the standard Wrangler.

It turns out that this particular vehicle is a Sahara model, as well. This Unlimited Rubicon Sahara trim package was built to publicize the Universal Motion Pictures film Sahara. One thousand numbered versions were built, and this is number 486. That does not make it run any harder or perform any better off-road. It just makes her another pretty face.

We call her Mercedes. We have friends who have purchased incredible Mercedes sports cars at this stage of life. This is all the better we could do to keep up. But hey, the top goes down and we can enjoy the open road just like them.

OK, their tops go down by themselves at the push of a button, and they do get twice the fuel economy. I will give them that.

Mercedes

Fort DeSoto, FL Day Five

The weather today had a hard time making up its mind as to what it really wanted to do, but in the end it turned out to be pretty good. There was enough sun to dry things out so I took the opportunity to put most of our carpets and other camp accessories away while they were still dry. Storms were forecast and I dread putting wet gear in the storage bays since there is not much airflow and I did not want to get that musty smell that never goes away. Now if it rains tonight there is only the BBQ stuff and some chairs to worry about, and they can go in the Honda to be dried out at home. Oh, wait, the dog. Well I need to have room for Nia so I will enlist Curt help to take some of the damp items home for me.

Curt got a couple of trips out on the kayak chasing fish today, and for the most art it was sunny. I got out for a little exercise on the kayak too. As usual I did not start the mapping app when I left so this only shows the return trip. It was about four miles round trip, so it felt like exercise with the bonus of being a great time.

As the clouds started to roll in late in the afternoon Curt and I took a moment, and a beer, to consider dinner. 

Steaks won! They were terrific!

Heading home tomorrow.

Fort DeSoto, FL Day Four

A great thing about last night’s campfire was leftovers. Today we had a reprise of last night’s pizza and it was every bit as good as it was last night.

The weather changed on us today. The sun never really came out, and by noon the wind was blowing pretty strong. We went over to the two fishing piers and Curt got a line in the water, but had no luck. We also tried the deep water beneath the access bridge, but again not even a strike. The flag in the background of this shot of Curt is a very large “Garrison”. It takes a good bit of wind to get this flag going, but as you can see it looks starched. The wind must have been 18-20 knots.

Barbara continues to enjoy her river cruise, and according to this Life360 App screen shot she is in Austria.

This evening we drove over to Ted and Linda Seefeldt’s home for a nice lasagna dinner. Once there the weather really got nasty. Luckily we were eating under the cover of their pack patio. The lightening put on quite a floorshow, but we did not get wet at all.

Tomorrow and the next day are forecast for more storms, so we will see how much we will have to write about.

Fort DeSoto, FL Day Three

Sorry no pictures for the day. The weather was cool and foggy for the majority of the day. I did get out on the kayak for a while in the morning. I took the SPOT with me, so that will explain the position reports that would have otherwise gotten the carpet in the motorhome very wet.

Curt Anderson showed up around noon. He will be joining me here for the rest of the week. Curt enjoys fishing, so he will be out on the water a good bit. He got a couple hours in during the afternoon, but came back empty handed. He is a "catch and release" guy, so unless something really good to eat takes the bait he will not be bringing anything back to shore anyway.

 We drove over to the Madiera Beach KOA in the evening for pizza and a campfire with Barbara's cousin Pat and her partner Jan. The pizza was a deep dish style, and great. Jet Pizza. If you are in the area look for it and give it a try. We had a good sized group around the fire pit, and there was plenty of good conversation. It was a great mix of folks: Republicans, Democrats, and Canadians! The health care discussion went on for a good while, but just like congress, there was a lot of smoke and nothing was resolved.

The weather looks like it will be wet for a day or two, so our activities will be limited some. Rainy weather will give me a chance to do some RV projects inside the coach, and I suppose there will be several eyelid light leak checks.

Fort DeSoto, FL Day Two

Day two at Ft DeSoto started off at a leisurely pace. It is so quiet here compared to the traffic noise we get at home. I enjoyed morning coffee and the paper, the Orlando paper, thanks to Kindle.

I launched the kayak around noon and had a great time circumnavigating Mullet Key Bayou. It was about five and a half miles of paddling, and now I have blisters. My gloves had a seam in a bad spot, so in the evening went for another pair at that gold old standby, West Marine.

Old man and the sea

Camp from waterside

They have added a new camp store. It had been under construction for a few years, but is done now. For campers, this is a nice addition because they have many convenience store items, camping stuff, pizza, and ICE CREAM Edys ice cream, and it is good! Well, at least that is what I am told. They have a nice balcony overlooking part of the bayou, and you can sit outside and enjoy your pizza, ice cream or drinks. They make huge snow cones, too. Remember how they used to be just bigger than an ice cream cone and served in a paper cone? I don’t think I have had one since I was about eight, but even given the memory effects over time (lots of time) I do not remember them being so big.

Curt Anderson arrives tomorrow and will spend the remainder of the week. Curt joined me for the Flagler Beach trip when Barbara did the cruise two years ago, and is here for the fishing. While kayaking this morning the bayou was flush with Mullet, and I saw some good-sized Sheepshead. I doubt Curt is after Mullet, so it will be interesting to see what he comes home with. Just in case I bought steak.

Fort DeSoto, FL

I am on the road solo this week. It is the first time I have launched a trip and set up at a campground by myself. 

Note to Barbara: I miss you!

Barbara is off with a friend cruising the Danube on a Christmas River Cruise. She and her friend Joanne did this two years ago and had such a good time they are off again. Husbands were invited, of course, but freezing temps and non-stop shopping kept the guys safe and warm at home.

The last time the ladies headed to Europe Curt Anderson joined me and we took the RV to Flagler Beach for a week. We did not escape the cold, though. A cold front blasted through and brought cold weather and high winds. This year I have come to Fort DeSoto in St. Petersburg, FL, and the weather is terrific. I have a waterfront site, although it is not oceanfront. This is on the gulf coast remember. My site looks out on Bunces Pass and Mullet Key Bayou. 

If you have not been to Ft DeSoto you should make it a 'must stop' if motoring through Florida. There are at least six miles of highly rated beach, two fishing piers, the fort of course, boat ramps, kayak rentals, and miles of bike and walking paths. There is a nice large picnic area and lots of picnic pavilions, too, so even if you are not camping there’s plenty to do.

These reservations were made well before we adopted Nia, our Golden Retriever. This area of the campground does not allow pets. We were faced with canceling and losing the full payment. Well, not lose exactly. We would have a credit to use later, but with Nia’s aversion to other dogs we would not be able to use the credit without disturbing her by being in the pet camping area where everyone has a dog. Well, Kathy and Jay Murphy came to our rescue. Kathy is another foster in the Golden Retriever Rescue organization like Barbara. She watched over Nia when we were in California a few months ago, and since she did not have another foster at the moment she volunteered to help out. This is particularly nice of them since the have just sold their house and are in the process of getting ready to move. The last time Nia was with them she pulled her hair out. (Nia, that is, not Kathy.) To avert a recurrence Kathy made Nia sleep in the “Cone of Shame”. If you have seen the movie “Up” you will understand this reference. Hopefully, Nia will behave and not have to wear it all week.

Curt plans to join me Sunday and plans to get some fishing in during the week by kayak. I got out for a long walk today and have sore feet, so my exercise is most likely going to be by kayak as well so this will work out. 

Did not start track until return. Actually 4Mi.

Just made it home for sunset, isn't life grand!

I will start reconing the waterways in the morning.

Lake Louisa, Day Three

What a great weekend! We have had perfect weather for being outside. It might have approached eighty today, but the humidity has been low. Barbara and Jocelyn went canoeing before lunch as planned. The wind was blowing strong enough that we elected to rent the canoe from the dock on the upwind side of Lake Dixie where they could paddle in the sheltered lee of the trees on the upwind bank. Yesterday I wrote that there were three lakes in the park. I was way off. There are six lakes and several good-sized ponds; all fishable.

While the ladies were paddling I took time to do a little RV work. I installed the remaining elements of a battery watering system. This motorhome has three deep cycle batteries for the “house”. All lighting in the RV is 12 volt, as are fans, the furnace, and other accessories. They are powered by the batteries, which are charged by 110 volt shore power when hooked up in a campground. When stopped in areas without electrical hookups we would run off batteries alone, or run the generator. These batteries are “wet”, which means they are lead acid batteries that require occasionally adding water to them. Remember the days when your car did not have “maintenance free” batteries? Same thing. These batteries are on a pull out tray, but it is hard to get to the middle and back battery. What I installed today amounts to new caps for the battery cells and connecting tubing. A squeeze bulb is then used to pump distilled water from a container through these new caps by way of the tubing and stopping when the water reaches the proper level. The job is easier which means it will be more likely to be accomplished routinely and the batteries will be happier and last longer.

After working on the RV and packing up some of the things that we were not going to need again I drove back to Lake Dixie to collect Barbara and Jocelyn. They had a ball. It turns our Jocelyn is a nature paddler and picked up on the paddling techniques right away. She says she learned by watching the summer Olympics! Go figure!

Returning through Mugwomp Swamp

We did the campout ritual of grilling hot dogs for lunch. We could not let Jocelyn miss out on that! After a little napping we headed out for an afternoon hike. It was a nice circuit and brought us more spider and deer sightings. No deer pictures this time, they were too quick to run deeper into the woods. The spiders were slower.

They turned out to be Black and Yellow Garden Spiders according to the Florida Audubon book. I sure am happy they aren’t in my garden. These suckers are big!

Disregard the portion of the track in red. We were almost a mile down the road in the car before I remembered to fish the phone out of my pocket and stop the App from recording our hike. When I did it congratulated us on “our fastest 5K to-date”. Little does it know.

We returned to camp as the sun was setting. THAT is sure happening early these days! Jocelyn got in another round of quizzing with the math flash cards for homework before packing up for the ten-minute ride home.

Barbara and I are now enjoying the relative quite of an evening to our selves. Tomorrow we return the motorhome to the barn and return to our normal routine. Lake Louisa State Park is great and has a wonderful campground. It should be on your list of places to visit if you are coming to the Orlando area and like the outdoors.

Lake Louisa, Day Two

After a leisurely morning and enjoying a nice cup of coffee and some cinnamon raison toast we set off on the first of two nice hikes. We circled around Hammond Lake and started around Dixie Lake. We were watching for wildlife, but there was not much in evidence other than a few vultures circling us. I know I am old, but I am not that old. 

Dixie Lake

Hammond Lake

We did see a whole lot of what should be the official State Critter here in Florida. FIRE ANTS!!! God, they were everywhere. Saw some pretty big spiders, too. Sorry the pictures of them are poor. They were about the size of my little finger! Sure made me happy to NOT be camping in a tent.

  

The shorter legged among us started to balk. Barbara and Nia (who has the shortest legs but four of them) continued on around Dixie while Jocelyn and I returned to get the car and meet Barbara at the canoe launching area.

While Barbara and Nia got at least three miles in, Jocelyn and I got a little over two miles. Poor Nia was so pooped she needed help up the steps into the motorhome.

Yep, there is an App for that.

While the girls rested I decided to try the honey wagon. I got it out of the storage compartment, hooked it up, and then carefully opened the grey water discharge valve. No leaks! I got most of the water out of the tank without filling the tote completely, and then stowed the hose. Still no leaks and no mess! It was a couple hundred-yard pull to the dump station and I felt like a little kid pulling my wagon. Only in this case the wagon weighed in at about 150 pounds. This model of tote can be pulled slowly with the car, but it would require adding the hitch and ball to the car and I did not want to bother. If it were a longer haul I would have considered it.

Once at the dump station I extended the discharge hose and gravity did the rest. It worked pretty well, but I could see that a 90-degree fitting would be handy for the end of the hose to allow it to mate better with the sewer opening. As it was there was a little leaking as I held the hose end near, but not in, the opening.

After lunch we headed over to the beach at Lake Louisa to hike the nature trail. It was another nice walk, but there was not much nature to observe. We did come across a fitness trail, though. At one station the idea was to hop over some elevated boards. Jocelyn was hopping onto the boards, so Barbara stepped in to show her how it is done.

And here comes the wind-up.

Just two more!

In the car on the way back to camp we finally saw a deer.

Tomorrow the ladies plan to rent a canoe to paddle on Dixie Lake.

Lake Louisa State Park, FL

We are treating Barbara’s grandniece Jocelyn to a weekend of camping. We brought the RV to Lake Louisa State Park outside Clermont, FL and got set up. When all was ready Barbara drove over to Jocelyn’s to pick her up after school. Lake Louisa State Park is only a few minutes south of Clermont. Right in Jocelyn’s backyard, really, but she does not get a chance to get out like this often. So, we thought we would create something of an adventure for her.

The campground has about fifty RV sites on three different loops. Each loop is supported with a clean modern bathhouse, and there are two dump stations. The sites are nice sized and foliage has now grown to the point that there is some privacy between the sites since we were last here.

All tucked in on Site 41

Two families in a trailer next door now. Still plenty private

Not all the sites have sewer hookups so this might be the trip that I test the honey wagon we bought earlier in the year. Our grey water holding tank does not get us much further than three days if we shower. The honey wagon hooks to the holding tank dump valve and allows us to discharge 18 gallons of waste. We then tow it to the dump station to be emptied. Making interim trips with the wagon allows us to leave the RV in place longer. Braking camp to drive the RV to the dump station every other day or so is avoided.

For her part, Jocelyn is foregoing modern electronic entertainment and left her games and such at home. We are entertaining ourselves with music and reading this evening.

Roughing it in the woods!

Tomorrow we will do hikes and other outdoor stuff so I should be able to get you more pictures of the park. It is pretty large, actually. There are three lakes, horse trails, about 25 miles of hiking trails, and of course the campground.

Virginia Tech vs. Miami

Drove to Miami today with a quick stop at the Fort Lauderdale airport to pick up my son, Chris. Chris had scored two great tickets to see Virginia Tech play the University of Miami in this week’s Thursday night football game. He also used Marriott loyalty program points to get a terrific hotel room at the Turnbury Marriott in Miami.

Our room was the third balcony down

After checking in at the hotel and spending a little time sitting by the pool we headed for Sun Life Stadium for a little tailgating. We had a cooler full of beer, but the majority of fans around us had elaborate setups. Many had tent like canopies, BBQs, tables & chairs, and some even had generators powering who knows what.

Chris on the tailgate

Once in the stadium we found or seats. We were only four rows up behind the visitor’s bench. Great seats.

Unfortunately the game did not go our way, and the Hokies lost. This has been a sad season, and the first losing season since I started following them. They meet another Florida team next Thursday night: Florida State. FSU has been doing very well this year so I suppose it will be another disappointment. Just the same, we will be in front of the TV rooting them on.

We returned to Orlando Friday afternoon and enjoyed a little home time with Chris before driving him to the Tampa airport Saturday afternoon for his trip home to Dallas.

Thank you Lisa and Jack for sharing him with us this week!